Drip, drip, drip … that’s the sound of water — and money — going right down your drain! Leaking faucets and toilets can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water loss in an average home each year, the amount of water it takes to wash 270 loads of laundry!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Fix a Leak Week” encourages Americans to help put a stop to the more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted from household leaks nationwide every year. As an EPA WaterSense partner, Kane County government is promoting “Fix a Leak Week” because the effort it takes to find and repair leaks in homes and small businesses is financially and environmentally beneficial — both to residents and to the Kane County community.

The Kane County Division of Environmental & Water Resources will offer FREE toilet leak detection dye tabs to residents this week. The tablets will be available, while supplies last, at the front desk at several County buildings:

• The Kane County Government Center, Building A, (in the Environmental & Water Resources and Development Departments), 719 S. Batavia Ave. in Geneva.
• The Kane County Health Department offices at 1240 N. Highland Ave. in Aurora and 1750 Grandstand Place in Elgin.

How to Do the Dye Tablets

Pick up your free dye tablets from Kane County during regular business hours, March 16th-20th.

The dye tablets (or any basic food color dye) can determine if your toilet is leaking, which often only requires a small, inexpensive part from your local hardware store to repair. Check out a short leak detection how-to video here:

Other Ways to Conserve Water

To help conserve water in your home, EPA’s WaterSense program suggests regularly following these guidelines:

• Check for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, sprinklers, and other fixtures. Also check for toilets wit silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank, waiting 10 minutes, and seeing if color appears in the bowl before you flush. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots, too.
• Twist and tighten hose and pipe connections. To save water without a noticeable difference in flow in your bathroom, twist on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator. Check with your local utility (such as Nicor’s EnergySmart program) about getting FREE faucet aerators.
• Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for WaterSense labeled models, which are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.

For more information on Fix a Leak Week, please visit the EPA’s WaterSense website.

www.epa.gov/watersense

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program’s inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save hundreds of billions of gallons of water and billions in water and energy bills.